Brandon Woodruff has not pitched in the big leagues since April 30. He spent the last seven weeks on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation. The Brewers brought him back Sunday for his first start in over a month. He took a perfect game into the sixth inning.
That is not a typo. Brandon Woodruff, fresh off the IL, was 5.1 innings into a perfect game against the Cincinnati Reds before Tyler Stephenson finally broke it up with a single. The Brewers won 2-1. Woodruff struck out his 900th career batter in the process. It was one of the best return outings any pitcher has had this year.
This is huge for Milwaukee. The Brewers are in first place in the NL Central but their rotation has been held together with duct tape. Freddy Peralta has been their ace. Aaron Civale has been steady. After that, there is a lot of question marks. Getting a healthy, dominant Woodruff back changes the entire complexion of the staff.
Woodruff is the kind of pitcher who can carry a playoff rotation. He is a two time All Star. He has front line stuff. He has postseason experience. Most importantly, he wants to be the guy in big games. The Brewers have not had that since Corbin Burnes got traded to Baltimore. Woodruff coming back at full strength makes Milwaukee a real threat to win the division and a real threat in October.
The shoulder injury was concerning. Pitcher shoulders are graveyards. Once you have one issue, you tend to have more. Woodruff has been managing arm issues for years. He missed almost all of 2024 with a different injury. So the fact that he came back and threw 5.1 perfect innings is a massive sign that the body is responding. Brewers fans can exhale.
The Brewers desperately need this. The Cubs are surging. The Reds are scrappy. The Cardinals have been better than expected. The NL Central is more competitive than people realized in spring training. Milwaukee was looking at a tight race with a thin rotation. Now Woodruff gives them a real top of the rotation arm to go with Peralta. That is a real one two punch.
The 900th strikeout is a nice milestone. Woodruff has been one of the most underrated pitchers in baseball for years. He never makes the Cy Young conversation because the Brewers do not get a lot of national attention. He just keeps showing up, keeps striking guys out, and keeps winning games. 900 strikeouts is the kind of number that says you have been quietly excellent for a long time.
The trade deadline angle here is also worth watching. If Woodruff stays healthy and dominant, the Brewers do not need to be aggressive in adding pitching. They can focus on bats, maybe go after a corner outfielder or a DH. If Woodruff has another shoulder issue, suddenly Milwaukee has to be in on every starting pitcher rumor between now and August 1.
For now, Brewers fans get to celebrate. Their second best starter is back, he is healthy, and he came within one hit of throwing the eighth perfect game in MLB history. That is a fantasy outcome for a guy returning from injury.
The Brewers might be the most quietly dangerous team in the National League. With Woodruff back, the quiet part is going to start getting loud.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
